Mists of the Caribbean
by Gothic Skittle
Summary: Chapter 7 added! Elizabeth's cousins curiosity gets to her, and soon she finds herself fighting side by side with pirates, and falling for Captain Jack Sparrow. NOTE:I only own Claudia and some made up crew members
1. Default Chapter

Claudia stared out the window of what used to be at one time her cousin, Elizabeth's room. She sighed, thinking of how she was, in many ways trapped. She longed to be free, travel, but most of all, sail the seas. She was a five foot two black haired beauty, and with an exception of her hair and eyes, was a spitting image of Elizabeth, which made her happy, because she always looked up to her. She was nineteen, a few years younger than Elizabeth was, but they got along great when Claudia came to visit them. On this particular day, Elizabeth and her new husband, William, were off visiting some friends in a farther part of Britain, and would be back any day. Upon return, Elizabeth and William were going to move into a house that was close to the Governor's, but not as close as they'd like to. Elizabeth was always attached to her father, but she felt that she couldn't stay with him forever. Also, Elizabeth thought that it was a good thing for Claudia anyway, because then she would get her own room. Claudia's mother died about a week after Elizabeth and William were married and it was set that she would move in with the Governor and Elizabeth. Claudia had no problem with it because she always got along with her uncle and Elizabeth, and the maids. She loved the idea of living with them, and being closer to the ocean. _Ships, sailors, and water. _She thought as she began to sing "A Pirates Life For Me".

There was a sudden knock on the door just as Claudia finished the song. 

"Madame Claudia? Your Uncle wishes to see you." She could hear Maria, one of the maids, call to her from behind the door. 

"Tell him I will be right down." She said as she brushed her hair and quickly put on her floor length blue everyday gown. She tied her hair with a red black ribbon and then made her way, barefoot, to the bottom of the stairs where the Governor was waiting for her.

"Ah, Claudia, there you are!" He said, holding a box underneath his arm. "This just came in the mail for you from Elizabeth and Will." He handed her the box and motioned her to open it. She took the box and lifted the lid to reveal a black and white vertically striped day gown, including a matching hat, matching pair of shoes, a matching umbrella, and a matching scarf. 

"Oh my gosh!" She gasped as her uncle helped her take everything out of the box. 

"It's beautiful Uncle!" She looked at him and then back at the outfit.

"Claudia, put it on! Put it on and we will go sightseeing!" The Governor told her as he handed the umbrella, hat, shoes and scarf to Maria. "Maria," he said, "Help her with the corset."

"Yes sir." Maria responded as she followed Claudia up the stairs carrying her assets.

Once in the room, Maria shut the door as Claudia ran behind the big screen that was used to change behind. She took off her blue gown and started to put on the corset while Maria was occupied with the strings, trying to make it tight enough. 

About a half an hour later, Claudia was walking down the stairs to meet her uncle for a sightseeing ride. She loved the new outfit, she felt beautiful in it. As she walked down the stairs, she thought to herself, _Now all I need is for a pirate to kidnap me and take me away. _She smiled to herself and then laughed. _I wonder what Uncle would do if I fell in love with one? _ She imagined herself with some of the legendary Pirates and then was interrupted by her uncle's compliment.

"Claudia, you really look beautiful in that!" He said as he had the butler help her out the door and into the stagecoach as he followed. When they were settled in, the driver started up and they were off. 

The Governor took Claudia down through the alleys, past Will's old blacksmith shop, and down along the paths that lead to the docks. As Claudia looked around at all the boats, she thought about the stories she heard about Elizabeth and Will's adventure alongside Captain Jack Sparrow. 

"Uncle," She said, "Will you tell me the stories again?"

"Which ones?" He said, looking puzzled. Since she'd been there, he'd told her about a lot of things that had happened, but as he feared, she was like Elizabeth and fascinated with Pirates.

"The ones about Liz, Will and Captain Sparrow." She said, listening eagerly. 

"I've already told you three times!" He said, with a dumbfounded look upon his face. He knew she was going to want to hear it again.

"I know, but I want to hear it again." She said, and then smiled. 

"Ohkay." He replied and began to tell her the story about her cousins, Jack Sparrow, and the Black Pearl. When he was finished, she was once again satisfied, but wanted to know more. 

"And which boat was it that they took? Is it still intact?" She asked, looking around the dock at all the ships. 

"I don't know if it is still intact," He responded, "But I know that it was one similar to that." He pointed to a ship across the way from the regular docks. It was anchored over by the left mountain, further out, but not too much further. It was a rather large ship with a British flag waving at the top of the lookout. _Hmm,_ she thought. _Maybe I could do a bit of sailing. _She turned to her uncle.

"Uncle, if I may, would you stop the coach and let me out? I want to wonder around myself for a while and I need time to think of things, and get a feel for this place." She looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Alright, but be home before dark, alright? I got a telegram from Elizabeth and Will saying that they will be home tomorrow, and we are supposed to go to bed early to so that we will be able to meet them when they get here." He opened the door and let her out.

"Yes, Uncle, see you by nightfall." She hugged him and then stepped back and watched him ride off.

_Finally, I am on my own and I get to explore. _She sighed, trying to figure out where to start first. She looked around and found the main dock that lead out to the water. No one was around and there were no boats parked, so she took off her shoes, and set her hat and umbrella down. She walked out onto the dock and sat down, dangling her feet in the water. She thought for a bit, and then began to sing "A Pirates Life For Me" again. As she was singing, she caught sight of an approaching ship. _Ah, _She thought, _someone coming home. _She stood up, and waved, and then noticed that the flag wasn't a British flag, it was black with markings on it. She strained her eyes to see what it was, and then noticed it was a skull and crossbones. It was a Pirate ship. _Hmmm._ She thought. She ran to her accessories and put on her shoes and hat. She picked up her umbrella and walked to the end of the dock and stood there, watching the ship as it came closer, closer, and closer to the shore. 

Finally, the ship was about ready to dock as Claudia edged away and hid behind a crate at the end of the dock. She watched intently as the ship's crew started off the ship. She expected to see at least twenty or so people, but instead, three got off. First was a rather short, stalky, old man with a graying hair and beard, second was a tough looking taller guy that had a parrot sitting on his shoulder. Claudia expected the Captain of the ship to follow, but instead it was a rather tall, black woman with long hair. Claudia looked puzzled and wondered where the Captain of the ship was.

The three crewmembers walked down the dock and towards town, talking about forming another crew. When they were gone Claudia, making no sound, left her umbrella behind the crate and ran to the ship. She looked for a way in, but the ladder wasn't open. _I'll have to climb_ She thought. She took a deep breath and then looked around, making sure that no one was around to watch her. She took off her shoes and tied the strings together, slinging them over one shoulder and then, barefoot, grabbed onto the side of the boat and started to maneuver herself over the side, trying to be as silent as possible. She finally reached the railing, and flung herself over, and landing on the ship with a big thud that anyone within a mile could hear. _So much for silent. _She thought.

She layed on the deck of the boat for about five minutes, making sure that no one heard the sound. She felt the boat was empty, because there was no sound, no movement, no one aboard that she could see. _Get up! _She told herself. She quietly stood up, took her shoes and put them back on. She slowly walked around the deck, making sure that no one was there, and there was no one but her there, so it seemed. She walked onto the main deck and stood behind the wheel. _I wonder what it feels like to be Captain, head of the ship. _She wondered, and then looked ahead. The three were coming back. She gasped and ran onto the deck she was on when she first arrived and looked around for a place to hide. Right ahead of her was double French doors. _Great!_ She said to herself as she ran to them. She tried the handle. Locked. She had but only a few minutes so she tried to jimmy the lock. Nothing. The voices were getting louder and louder, closer and closer. She looked around quickly and found a trap door in the floor of the deck. She went and opened the door and looked in. There was a ladder leading down to what looked like a bedroom. She looked over to the side of the boat where she could hear the voices coming from. The side ladder was being opened, so she quickly dove in and shut the door.

Once inside the room, she looked around. It was candle lit, very dim but she could see that this was the sleeping quarters for someone. She walked away from the ladder and into the middle of the room. She took mental notes of everything in the room. There was a king-sized bed, a closet full of clothes, a dresser, a desk and chair, and a coat rack all in front of her. She turned around. Behind her was a table with four chairs, a box of candles and matches, and a bunch of cabinets. She walked over to the table and noticed that there was a black overcoat hanging on it, along with a Pirate's hat. She turned back to the coatrack. Hanging there was a holster with a gun, and a sword. She thought for a moment, and then picked up the sword to take a closer look. It was heavy, but she could handle it. She examined it and swung it around a bit. She then examined the other side. She noticed that there were spots of dried blood on it. _Gee, good thing I have a strong stomach._ She swung it around some more, as if fighting off an invisible enemy. Suddenly, she stopped and held the sword close to her. Someone was watching her, in the room with her. She could feel eyes on her, but she didn't know where they were. She heard someone's heavy breathing somewhere behind her. Tap, tap, tap. She could hear someone walking around. She turned around and held the sword steady, being able to stab anyone at anytime.

"Where are you?" She asked the person she could not see. She could hear movement, but the lurker refused to speak.

"I have a sword aimed, I know you're in here." She called into the dimly lighted room, waiting for an answer. Still, no one else spoke. She turned and backed her way against the bed, her eyes darting from one end of the room to the other. 

"Hello?" She called one last time, but again, no answer. She sat down on the bed holding the sword at the ready just in case. Finally, she put the sword down and let out a deep breath. _Whoever was in here must have gone. _She hoped as much, anyway. She sat listening to the crewmembers talk and go through some ship maintenance, while looking around the room wondering how long she was going to be stuck on the ship. She sighed as she scooted back against the wall and hugged her knees to her chest. She sat there for what seemed like an hour or two before she began to doze off. She slept for a few minutes and then awoke abruptly in the dark with someone's hand covering her mouth.

"You should know better than to trespass." The voice was a man's, although it wasn't cold; it was enough to make Claudia shutter. She looked to her left and could see a figure, but she couldn't make out who it was. _He must have put out the candle. _She thought. She tried to scream, but she couldn't be heard. The man spoke again.

"If you promise not to scream, I will unhand you and light another candle, savvy?" She nodded in response and she was released. The man walked over to the table and re-lit the candle. He turned around and at once she knew who he was.

"I know who you are." She said, standing up and walking to the other end of the room. The man looked at her. 

"Ah, so then, who am I?" He said, edging towards her. She got a good look at him this time. He wore a white shirt with a striped belt, and big black boots underneath rather largely flared pants. He smiled at her, waiting for a response. 

"You're a pirate." She said and then turned, backing towards the ladder.

"Aye," He said, smiling to show his gold plated teeth. He walked over to Claudia and slowly started to circle her, one hand in his pocket. _Oh lord, am I going to die? He's a pirate; oh this is fascinating…I bet he kills me…_ Thoughts were running through her head as he circled her, eyeing her up and down, looking for weapons. His eyes darted to the sword on the floor next to Claudia. He stopped for a moment, looked from it to her just as she spoke.

"Are you going to kill me?" She asked as he slowly started to circle her again. 

"Aye, I might." He said, stopping in front of her again, hand still in his pocket. She looked afraid, and he knew she was shaken a little, the thought of getting killed by a pirate. She took a deep breath.

"Or?" She wanted to know an alternative. Was there one? She had to ask herself these questions, as in a split second she could be met with death. _I won't go without a fight. _She thought. She wouldn't.

He took a few steps closer to her, and stopped when they were face to face, or more literally speaking, nose to nose. He smiled a little as she took another deep breath and responded to her pondering.

"Or, or you will stay here with us." He looked at her, slowly starting to circle her again, but this time stopped behind her. He moved her hair away from her neck. She closed her eyes, debating whether or not to grab the sword and stab him to death. She took a deep breath; eyes still closed and spoke once more. 

"For what? You? Or as your prisoner? To say that you finally captured someone?" She refused to open her eyes as his finger followed the bone structure of her neck, along her jaw, and back. He kissed her neck, raised his head and put her hair back. 

"Bold words you speak, your Uncle taught you well." She turned around, startled at the remark.

"What do you, a pirate, know of my Uncle?" She backed towards the ladder, even line with the sword.

"I know a lot about your family," He said, "More than you think you know." He looked at her, standing in the candlelight and then whispered, "My god…you look just like her." 

"Excuse me?" Claudia said, confused.

The pirate pulled up his right sleeve and showed her his tattoo, his marking. He took a few steps forward for her to see. She gasped. 

"You're Sparrow, Captain Jack Sparrow."


	2. Chapter 2

"Captain! Captain! You're needed on deck!" A woman's voice called from the above deck. Sparrow looked up and then back down at Claudia. Claudia went for the sword but was startled when she found the blade of Sparrow's dagger ready at her neck. 

"You're pretty, you know, and I'd hate to have to draw a dark red line across that nice neck of yours." He closed his eyes, as he smelt her hair. "Don't try anything…" He said as he banged on the overhead door. 

"Open the door!" He yelled as he led Claudia up the ladder, dagger still at her neck. The door opened, and the two moved slowly onto the deck. Sparrow shouted to the woman to bring some rope and a bottle of rum. 

"What are you going to do to her?" The woman yelled back, "Burn her?" Claudia glared at the woman as Sparrow hollered back at her.

"I'm not sure yet. I think we'll keep her, we might be able to use her." The woman disappeared out of sight and then returned with a bundle of rope and the bottle of rum. 

"Who is she?" She asked, giving Claudia an evil look. The older man walked over to the three of them just as Sparrow began to tie Claudia's hands together and spoke.

"She sure is a pretty one, mate." He examined Claudia and then looked back at Sparrow again. Sparrow finished the knot as he answered the first question. 

"You remember that scuffle we had years ago, with old Bootstrap Bill's son and his girl?" The older man and the woman both responded to Sparrow in unison.

"Oh, Aye, the Governor's girl." The woman stopped as the man continued. "How could we forget mate?" Sparrow sat back and opened the bottle of rum. 

"That," He pointed at Claudia, "Is the girl's cousin, the Governor's niece." Sparrow took a swig of the rum and tilted his head back. 

"Funny how things work, isn't it?" He said as he looked back at the man. 

"What are we going to do with her? Kill her?" He asked Sparrow, who shook his head as he took another drink from the bottle. 

"No, we can't." He said as he stood up and looked Claudia in the eye. 

"Why not?" The woman said. "She is of no use to us!" Sparrow turned back to her. 

"Maybe not now, but soon she will be." Sparrow glanced from the woman to the man. 

"Our first recruit." Sparrow said. The woman slapped him. 

"No. We need a crew, not some rich white girl." The woman went to slap him again, but he caught her arm and quickly put the blade of his dagger to her neck. 

"She's part of the crew, savvy?" The woman, frightened, nodded and then backed away. Sparrow turned to the man. "Take Anna Maria down to the lower deck and give her the rules." The man looked confused.

"Rules, Captain?" Sparrow nodded.

"Aye, rules." He responded as he raised his dagger and pointed it to Claudia, shaking his head. "No one is to touch her but me, savvy?"

"Aye, Captain. No one but you, mate." The man said and turned to Anna-Maria. The man said something to her and they disappeared below deck. 

Claudia looked around, and up at the sky. It was starting to get dark. _My uncle must be worried about me. _She thought. _How am I going to get out of here? _She looked at Sparrow who sat down in front of her as if taking guard. 

"At least I'm alive." She said.

"Aye, mate, at least you're still alive."

The Governor sat on the porch of the house, looking out into the beyond, waiting for Claudia to show up. 

"Sir," Maria caught his attention, "Perhaps we should send out a search party and look for her?" She said as she dusted the candleholders next to the door. 

"No, no, I shall get Commodore and some troops to help me." He said as he stood. "Get me my coat, take me to the Commodore." He walked outside and got into the stagecoach. The driver handed the Governor his hat and coat and then took his place at the reins. He started the horses and Maria was left standing in the open door, watching after them as the coach disappeared into the darkness.

Claudia sat there, looking around for something sharp enough to cut the rope that tied her hands together at the wrists. No one was around; the three of them were going through some ship maintenance. _Wait_ She thought. She hadn't seen the man with the parrot since she got onboard the ship. _I wonder where he could be. _She thought as she frantically looked around, wanting to spot him. He was nowhere to be found. 

She just sat there for another half-hour or so, thinking to herself when her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Sparrow and his fellow shipmates came back on deck. Sparrow and the man walked to the back of the ship and searched through some of the storage barrels and soon brought out three bottles of rum. Anna –Maria was set at the front, watching for British soldiers or anyone else who might want to overrun the ship. Claudia looked on as the two men wandered back over to where she was and set down in front of her as Sparrow held out one of the bottles of rum to her. Claudia looked at him with a stern look and indicated that her hands were tightly bound together behind her back. Sparrow laughed a little and then leaned in oh so very close to her, she thought he was going to kiss her, but instead he quietly whispered in her ear.

"Aye, but then you'd get away. I could always tie a leash around that pretty little waist and keep you with me at all times, also." Claudia wanted to slap him, but she couldn't. He began to run his finger down her jaw, around her collarbone and back. He moved even closer to her and kissed her. She backed away and he pulled her closer, only to get her head shoved in his right eye. He fell over, then sat back up nursing his hurting eye. He looked at her with his good one and began to speak to her, but was interrupted by her stern voice.

"You underestimate me sir." She said as she sat there, looking at him, giving him an evil smile. "Just because a woman is small and tied doesn't mean she doesn't posses the ability to protect herself from even the worst scoundrels like you." Sparrow looked back at the other man and Anna-Maria, watching the events taking place. Anna-Maria was the bold one to make comment upon the happenings.

"And I don't suppose you deserved that one, either." Anna-Maria started to laugh as she smiled at Claudia. The man finally spoke up.

"Captain, sir, it is bad luck having one woman aboard, but two is blasphemy." The man looked at Claudia then back at Anna-Maria. Anna-Maria and Claudia both chuckled. Sparrow stood up and started walking to the back of the ship when Anna-Maria frantically started calling him.

"Captain! Captain! Get back here now!" Sparrow turned around.

"Why? Why should I?" He turned and continued walking, holding the bottle of rum to his sore eye. Soon the other three were all frantically calling his name. He turned around and yelled at them.

"What do you want!?" He took a few steps forward and then saw Anna-Maria start to bring in the anchor. The man ran over to Sparrow and practically pushed him to the front of the boat. He pointed out towards the main road that went through town.

"Look! Look! The British army is coming!" Sparrow slightly leaned over the railing of the ship to see a bunch of men charging towards the boat. Many were flashing lights on them and yelling at them to step off of the boat. Sparrow shook his head as he helped Anna-Maria finish bringing in the anchor as the older man set the sails. Claudia was just sitting there, wondering if she should call out to her Uncle, or should she just stay on the boat and go quietly? She couldn't choose. She just sat there, humming a mournful tune as the three man crew worked as hard as they could to get that ship out of there. Once Claudia felt the ship moving, she looked over at the wheel and saw Sparrow taking over his job getting the boat out to sea. The man watched the land get smaller, and the British soldiers get into their ships. The British got started and were a good hundred feet behind, but within a matter of minutes they were gaining on he pirates. 

"Anna-Maria!" 

"Aye, Captain!" 

"Man the sails! We must outrun them!" 

Anna-Maria stood there, looking at him as if he was a ghost. 

"What are you just standing there for? Man the bloody sails!" Sparrow pointed at the large wooden columns that held the ship's sails. Anna-Maria just stood there, staring at him.

"MAN THE BLOODY SAILS! Do you want to get hung?" Sparrow yelled at her as if she were a child who had just stolen a cookie from the cookie jar. He couldn't believe she wasn't doing anything. Anna-Maria laughed a little then responded.

"Aye, Captain. You're dumber than you look. How am I supposed to man the sails all by my bloody self?" She crossed her arms and tapped her foot. The older man looked back at the two of them and yelled, "They're about a yard away! Do something!" Sparrow looked at Anna-Maria then to Claudia. He handed the wheel over to the old man and stood Claudia up. 

"You know how to man sails?" He grabbed her by her shoulders as he spoke directly into her face. 

"I lived with the Governor, not a sailor sir." Sparrow looked confused. "That is to say, of course, that I don't know the first thing about in which you're talking." Sparrow forced her to turn her back to him cut the ropes that tied her wrists together. He turned her back around and said, "Well then, it's time to learn." He pushed her over to Anna-Maria who took her arm and started to climb the poles to the sails as Sparrow positioned himself once more at the wheel.

The old man turned back to the British ship which was coming so close to them that within another half hour or so you could have reached out and touched it from the Pirate ship. The man started to panic, so he ran to help Claudia and Anna-Maria with the sails. Sparrow looked back at the other ship following them.

"Hurry up, We need to get going!" Anna-Maria finally got the final sail to drop, in which the ship took off at once, leaving the British soldiers nothing to do but fire cannons, and the Governor wouldn't even let them do that, because one of them might hurt Claudia. 

The three of them jumped down, the man and Anna-Maria landing on their feet, but Claudia landed on her side with a thud. Sparrow looked behind him, they were far enough away from the British Ships in his opinion, but he had Anna-Maria take the wheel just in case. He walked over to Claudia and sat down beside her, she was on her side trying to get up. He shook his head.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." He said, as he started to help her up. "That's why you learn to land on your feet."

She glared at him as he walked away and started to brush herself off. She had a sharp pain in her right side. She looked down at the spot that stung and noticed a fairly large circle of red liquid that had soaked through her dress. _Great_ She thought. _Liz is just going to love me for this one. _She shook it off and looked over to Anna-Maria, who had given Sparrow back the wheel. She motioned for her to come to her so that she could talk to her. 

"Aye." Anna-Maria said as she walked over to Claudia. She stopped in front of her, waiting for her to continue.

"Um," Claudia began, lowering her voice. "Do you have some extra clothes I can use?"

Anna-Maria smiled and began to laugh a bit. 

"Aye, mate." She took hold of Claudia's arm in a friendly way. "Follow me."


	3. Chapter 3

By the time they lost the British Army's ship, it was pitch black outside with an exception of the lights that Sparrow had burning. Claudia emerged from the double French doors in black pants, boots, and a blue button up shirt, Anna-Maria's specialty. Anna-Maria followed her, and smiled as the man and Sparrow ran over at once. Sparrow circled Claudia as he did when they first met, eyeing her new wardrobe and smiled at Anna-Maria. 

"Better?" Anna-Maria watched Sparrow as he circled Claudia once more.

"Aye, much." Sparrow stopped and smiled at Claudia, pleased. "Now you really could pass as one of us." He then passed them and walked through the French doors, as the rest of them followed. Sparrow passed through the bedroom and into a room that held a long table and a few chairs. The man with the parrot was setting the table and bringing out food for them to eat. _Aha,_ Claudia thought to herself, _So that's his job. _

Sparrow took his place at the head of the table, the old man sat by him to his left, Anna-Maria sat next to him, and the man with the parrot sat next to Anna-Maria. Claudia looked around and then went to sit down by Anna-Maria. Anna-Maria caught Claudia's wrist and shook her head. She then nodded her head to the seat on the other side of the table next to Sparrow. 

"The Captain has requested you sit there." She released Claudia's wrist as she turned and walked around the table. She stood behind her chair, glanced at Sparrow, and sat down. Sparrow smiled and then gave the command to start eating. Everyone dug in, except for Claudia. While everyone, including Anna-Maria, used their hands to stuff their faces, Claudia used her knife and fork, laid her napkin in her lap, and took small bites. She sipped her wine as she listened to the bodily noises of everyone else around her. She just continued on with her meal, cutting into the meat, making it bite size pieces, then placing them in her mouth, chewing politely without a sound. She was so wound up in her thoughts that she didn't even notice that after about five or so minutes, all four pirates were staring at her. She swallowed and then spoke with a confused look upon her face.

"What?" She dabbed at her lips with her napkin, and then took a silent sip of wine. Anna-Maria looked from Sparrow to Claudia.

"What I tell ya? Huh? Huh? Little rich white girl." She scoffed and then began to eat again. Claudia turned to Sparrow as the old man spoke.

"Why are you being 'proper'? You're in the company of pirates!" Claudia gazed around the table, from one to the next, to the next, to the next. She placed her fork down on the table beside her plate and then looked at the meat. She picked it up with both hands and started eating it, not making a sound. Anna-Maria caught Sparrow's attention by pointing at Claudia and acting like she was hanging herself, putting her hands back on the table and rolling her eyes. Sparrow leaned over to the man and whispered in his ear, loud enough for Claudia to hear.

"She ain't never go'ina get this one, is she mate?" The man sat for a few minutes, watching Claudia as she ate, messily but quietly, like them but not. He then leaned back over to Sparrow to answer his question.

"No, no mate, I don't think she will." He sat back in his seat, took a drink of his wine, and then began to eat again, which was obviously a sign for the others as they began to chow down. It wasn't long before they all were done, and sitting around drinking wine, and rum, and talking about their last encounter with William and Elizabeth. 

"I didn't like her." Anna-Maria said as she took another sip of rum. "She was too bold, and snooty, for my taste." Claudia glared at Anna-Maria. 

"You hold your tongue miss!" She responded firmly, as if scolding a child. "If you really knew her, you wouldn't think that of her. She's a caring, loving, brave and honest woman. If you really knew her, you'd look up to her, she is a wonderful role model for every girl, and that, my dear, you are." Claudia sat back, looking at Anna-Maria. She was angry with Claudia and you could see it in her face. She stood up, pushed her chair in and grabbed her bottle of wine. She turned and started walking towards the door that led to the bedroom. She stopped for a moment and looked back at Claudia long enough to say, 

"You should be the one holding your tongue, for you have no right to be speaking so bold. Look at you, you are nothing out here without us. You just watch, we'll make you something." And with that she was gone.

Claudia closed her eyes and then stood up, not finishing her wine. She started walking towards the opposite door that led out onto the side of the boat, but stopped. She turned and walked back to the table. She looked at Sparrow and cleared her throat.

"Aye?" Sparrow said, once again eyeing her up and down, as if looking for a weapon. Claudia took a step back as she spoke.

"Uh, where do I sleep?" Sparrow smiled a little as he glanced at the other two men. He looked back at Claudia and eyed her again, as he responded.

"We've made a place for you below deck." He took another swig of rum. Claudia stared at him, puzzled. Sparrow put the cork back in the bottle of rum.

"Down below where you were hiding from us." Claudia stood there, as if trying to figure out a math problem. 

"But isn't that your room?" Claudia took another step back, as if going to run off the boat. She looked at Sparrow as they got into an argument.

"Aye, that's correct."

"Then why did you put me up in there?" 

"There was room."

"I'm not sleeping in there."

Sparrow stood up and pulled his dagger, yet again, and held it to her neck. 

"You're sleeping in there, savvy?" Claudia tried to pull away, but he held on tighter. 

"Yes, sir, just don't kill me." She said. The other men began to laugh as they cleared the table. Sparrow, still holding the dagger to Claudia's neck, moved closer and closed his eyes. 

"Why must you always be so difficult? Your cousin was much easier to handle."

Claudia closed her eyes as he opened his to look at her. 

"Huh? Why?" Sparrow took the dagger from her neck. Claudia opened her eyes just in time to see him walk to the other side of the room. Claudia felt somewhat invaded. She finally responded.

"You didn't kidnap her! Plus you weren't so, so…" Sparrow turned around. 

"I wasn't so what?" Sparrow said, practically yelling. Claudia closed her eyes again.

"You weren't so persistent." She took a few steps forward and sat back down in her chair. Sparrow walked over to a window and looked out.

"Aye, that's because she belonged to Will." He turned and looked at Claudia, waiting for her to say something. She stood up and nodded her head towards him.

"I'm going to go to bed now, I shall see you tomorrow." She turned and walked away.

Sparrow grabbed his bottle of rum off the table and pulled the cork out of it. He drank the rest of it and walked out onto the ship's deck. He took position at the wheel and took out his compass. Although the compass didn't point north, he still found good use of it. He couldn't help thinking about Claudia and Elizabeth. Had he been in love with Elizabeth? No, no of course not, it wouldn't have worked out between them. He couldn't help trying to shake the thoughts from his mind. There was something about Claudia he just couldn't let go of. He tried to make sense of it, but he was too drunk to. He finally decided to call it a night and went down to the lower deck to find Claudia sound asleep on his bed. They had made a place for her, but obviously she didn't find it. _Heh._ He thought as he lightly moved her over, layed down on the bed and fell fast asleep.

Claudia awoke with the sun pouring in from the near window, warm on her face. She opened her eyes and layed there for a while, just thinking about what happened the night before and what would possibly happen that day. She layed there for about ten minutes before she noticed a hand had been placed on her shoulder. It frightened her, but she didn't move, as she didn't want to arouse the owner of the hand. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and then turned her head to see who the hand belonged to. Much to her surprise she found Sparrow, half on the bed and half off, sleeping peacefully. _Hmmm…. _She thought as she yawned. She sat up and turned over, grabbing his hand and pulling it completely around her. She layed back down and went to sleep. 

Sparrow woke up a few minutes later and smiled at the positing in which they were both lying. He started playing with her hair as she slept only to be interrupted by the older man banging on the door.

"Captain! Wake up! The British are back!" Sparrow got up, careful not to wake Claudia, and put on his hat, overcoat and holsters for his gun and sword. He started to climb the latter to go out on deck, but he paused at the bottom of the ladder and turned around. He stared at Claudia for a few minutes, walked over and kissed her cheek.

"Captain! Come on!" Anna-Maria was banging on the door. "We need to load the cannons!" Sparrow turned around and yelled up at her, "Ohkay! I'm coming!" 

On deck Sparrow went to the storage barrels and started stacking up cannon balls and gunpowder. He then handed them to the man with the parrot, who handed them to Anna-Maria, who loaded them into the cannons. 

"Gibbs! Gibbs!" Anna-Maria called to the older man while loading the cannons.

"Aye?" Gibbs called back as he climbed down the stairs into the cannon room.

"Light the cannons! Let's blow the bloody British away!" Gibbs grabbed the matches as Sparrow lined the boat with the British ship for an even shot. 

"Go!" Sparrow called out, and Gibbs lit the first cannon. 

**BANG! **The cannon hit the British ship, knocking a big whole in the side. The British backed off and stopped moving, but not before they shot a cannon back. It missed, but skinned the end of Sparrow's boat. Anna-Maria ran on deck and started messing with the sails so that they could get out of there as fast as possible. The British ship fired another cannon that missed completely. The sails finally went down and Anna-Maria let out a deep breath as she sat down. 

"Captain?" She said as she took a long drink of rum from a nearby bottle.

"Aye?" Sparrow answered, looking at his compass.

"Where we going to find a crew?" She asked. She corked the bottle and lightly tossed it aside as she looked up at him, shielding her eyes from the sun.

"Totulga." He said as he glanced at her and smiled. 

Anna-Maria sighed. "I was afraid you were going to say that."


	4. Chapter 4

Claudia emerged from the lower deck around midday. She used her fingers to comb her hair and then wiped the sleep from her eyes as she started wandering around the deck of the ship, not really knowing what to do with herself. She saw Sparrow at the wheel, not paying any attention to anything except the wheel, the sea, and his compass. She then noticed Anna-Maria sitting on the floor, bottle of rum in hand. She was sleeping; hat pulled down over her eyes, snoring. Oh the wonders of being a female pirate. 

After a moment, Claudia walked silently to the front of the boat and looked out to the sea. It was beautiful today. She then went and stood behind Sparrow, without being noticed. She took a deep breath and then grabbed his shoulders, laying her head on his back. She closed her eyes and began to hum a tune. He was surprised at this, but kept on directing the boat. His thoughts finally got the better of him, so after about five or ten minutes of ignoring her, he put the compass away and turned around, wrapping Claudia in his arms, hugging her tightly. He had feelings for her, but he didn't know what to call them. He just stood there, holding her tightly, not wanting to let go. _If I let go, she might leave and never come back._

"Er, Captain?" Gibbs's voice cut in from behind Claudia. Both she and Sparrow jumped, startled at Gibbs's silent approach. 

"What?" Sparrow seemed a little upset, yet shooken. Gibbs grabbed Sparrow's arm and pulled him towards the railing of the ship.

"Look." He said as he pointed towards a fleet of about four ships ahead, coming towards them. They couldn't see what was on the flags, but they turned the sails to gain more speed anyway. Claudia sauntered over to the railing and looked out, secretly wondering if it was her Uncle coming to get her. She leaned over, staring into the water at her reflection. _He's going to want to take me back, but what if I don't want to go?_ She would need to make a choice when the time comes...but she wasn't certain whether or not it was he. _Hopefully it isn't...I'm just starting to get used to these people..._ She knew what she wanted to say but she didn't dare say it just yet, for she didn't really know the full life of a pirate. She hadn't fought any battles, hadn't gotten hurt, lost, or got drunk off of rum. Yet she pondered and awaited what the next day would bring, hoping that her Uncle hadn't set out for her. Although she did wonder if Elizabeth and Will had gotten home, she missed them. She loved Elizabeth so much, as if she was her sister. Will had been charming when she first met him, but she found him amusing when he talked about his life, being the son of Bootstrap Bill. She stood upright a moment, and then looked back into the water at her reflection as she said quietly, "I want to be a pirate."

A few moments later, the 'fleet' of ships actually turned out to be one...and it wasn't even British. As it passed Sparrow's ship, you were able to see that it was actually a Cruiser ship, carrying immigrants from France to some other country. Claudia stood by the railing at the side of the ship looking up. The Cruiser's name was written in black bold letters across the side, and read "The Interlude". Claudia smiled and sighed a sigh of relief as she walked back over to Sparrow. Gibbs had aroused Anna-Maria from her deep sleep, still halfway drunk from downing her first bottle of rum. She was now trying to finish the second. Claudia walked over to Gibbs and whispered in his ear.

"Um, if I become a pirate, do I have to be drunk all the time? Er, do I have to be drunk at all?" Gibbs chuckled at the indirect statement, very frank question. 

"You don't have to but that is said to be one of the characteristics of us pirates." He then looked from Anna-Maria to Sparrow and then back to Claudia again. "And I'm not sure about you, miss, but the three of us fit that description perfectly." He half laughed and then went down to the back lower deck to perform some ship maintenance. Claudia smiled a little and then sat down where she was, leaning up against a crate and closed her eyes, singing to herself. She sat there for a long time, trying to make a decision. Would she live a life of criminal ways, endangering her life and running from the law, doing her best to avoid getting hung? She couldn't help but be attracted to it, breaking rules and fighting her own fights, becoming one of the most feared in these parts. Although she loved the thought of it, she knew that being feared wasn't the only thing she was attracted to. This thought made her smile. _But does he fancy me back? _She had to wonder...did those few moments pass and mean nothing to him? Or maybe...

Her thought process was interrupted by Gibbs, once again, yelling down at them from the Eagle's nest. 

"Land ahead!" He called, more than once. Claudia stood up and ran to the end of the ship. She peered out to the land that was up ahead of them. 

"Where are we?" She asked as she looked up at Sparrow. He looked at her and then back at the land as he breathed, "Totulga."


	5. Chapter 5

Once they docked the boat, Sparrow led Gibbs, Ann-Marie, Claudia and the guy with the parrot to a nearby bar in which they would start their search for crewmembers. Before they entered the bar, Gibbs grabbed Sparrows shoulder and then pointed to Claudia. 

"We need to know where she stands, Captain." Sparrow nodded his head walked over to Claudia. 

"Time to make a choice," He said as he took her arm and led her away from the others. "You are either going to be our prisoner or part of the crew. Aye, that means that you are going to either take lessons from us and step foot on that ship as a pirate or you'll be tied again." He stopped and looked at her. "Savvy?" 

Claudia stood there, debating her issue for a moment and then spoke softly, looking Sparrow in the eye.

"I wish--" Sparrow urged her on.

"Aye? Go on child." 

"I wish to be..." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I wish to be a pirate." Sparrow smiled.

"Aye, good choice mate, good choice." 

Sparrow and Claudia sat down at the table in the bar across from Gibbs and Anna-Maria. Gibbs passed Sparrow a mug as Claudia looked around the room eagerly and then sat back. 

"Something wrong?" Sparrow asked quietly. Claudia looked from Sparrow to Gibbs, from Gibbs to Anna-Maria.

"Where's the guy with the parrot?" Gibbs looked down at his mug of whiskey. Anna-Maria pointed over to the bar, and lying there was the man, parrot on his shoulder. 

"What happened?" 

"Fight. He won't be going with us." Anna-Maria signaled to a nearby woman for another mug of whiskey. 

"So," Claudia said, "What do we do first?" 

"Well," Sparrow began, "In the morning we'll set you up with a sword and practice a bit, otherwise, we start looking for a crew." Gibbs raised a finger as he gulped down his last swig of whiskey.

"Already got a few." 

"Really?" Sparrow looked around then back at Gibbs. "Where?" Gibbs pointed to the table across the room from them where four rough looking men sat. One had long blonde hair that was tied back with a black ribbon. He wore a complete pirate looking outfit, only he fancied the colour red. The other three all had brown hair, one short, one dreaded and one shoulder length. They all wore the same outfits, but different colours. 

"The one with the matted hair is Johnson, sitting next to him with the longer brown hair is Ku. The one with the really short hair is Pendellon and the blonde is Cuebeck. They're all brothers, excluding Cuebeck; he's a distant cousin. They can fight like nothing I've ever seen and as far as working a ship goes, it's rumored that they worked for o' Bootstrap at one time." Gibbs sent for another mug of whiskey as he added, "And with Claudia here, which means that we only have to find a few more men and then we're set to go." The woman came back with both Anna-Maria's mug and Gibbs's mug. Anna-Maria took a drink and then looked at Claudia.

"Aye, it ain't easy learnin' the ways." She took another drink.

"Aye to that!" Sparrow and Gibbs chimed in as the three of them clanked mugs and drank, then banged their mugs on the table. Anna-Maria giggled a little then waved for another mug of whiskey to be brought over. 

"You're turn." She said to Claudia as she passed her the mug. 

"Excuse me?" Claudia looked puzzled as she took the mug from Anna-Maria. Sparrow smirked a little and then responded.

"Aye, if you're going to be a pirate, you gotta learn to drink." He took a swig of his whiskey and smiled. 

"Oh boy." Claudia said as she looked into the glass. The smell was horrible. _They expect me to drink this?_ She thought.

"Ahem." Gibbs looked at her and motioned for her to drink it. 

"Oh, c'mon, c'mon, we ain't got all day mate, just drink the bloody stuff." Anna-Maria started getting impatient. Claudia just sat there, staring at the liquid inside the mug. Finally after about five minutes of preparing herself, she pressed the mug to her lips and let the liquid flow down her throat as the others looked on. Much to their surprise, she finished the whole thing. She then slammed the mug down on the table and belched quite loudly. 

"Pardon me." She said as she covered her mouth with her napkin. The three of them looked at each other then at Claudia. Sparrow yelled and then started clapping, followed by Gibbs, followed by Anna-Maria. Claudia felt proud of herself, and yet wished to see Elizabeth and Will. _I wonder if they'd be proud of me. _She thought. 

The next morning Sparrow took Claudia out on the beach that overlooked the dock in which his ship was parked, gave her a sword and started her first lesson. She was rather good much to her surprise, but not as good as Sparrow. He taught her the stance, footwork and movement of the wrist. At one point, Sparrow went for the left side far enough for Claudia to grab hold of his wrist and make him drop his sword, pulling his arm behind him and raising the end of her sword to his neck.

"Never leave yourself open for attack." Claudia whispered in his ear and smiled as she let go of him. 

"Very well done." Sparrow said, "I think your sword class is over." He smiled, pleased with himself and then began to walk with Claudia back to the ship, where Gibbs had a line of men waiting. Sparrow laughed a little.

"Oh Gibbs, again?" Gibbs chuckled as he took Sparrow and led him to the beginning of the line. There were about fourteen men, including Johnson, Pendellon, Ku and Cuebeck. Not any of the others were notably important; Sparrow only needed to call those four by name. He walked down the row, examining each man and asking him a question or two, not bothering to ask names. Gibbs followed, as did Anna-Maria and Claudia. When they reached the end of the line, Sparrow turned to Gibbs and patted him on the back.

"Good work, mate." Claudia poked him in the shoulder.

"Aye?"

"What exactly are we doing?"

"What er ya talkin about?"

"Like, why do we need a crew?"

"Oh, we're doing a little treasure huntin, mate." 

"What treasure?"

"The Mist Treasure..." 

"...Of Rachkam?" Claudia finished. She knew that he must have been talking about the legendary Captain Wayne Rachkam. Claudia's mother used to tell her the story over and over when she was little. She always dreamed of hunting for the Mist Treasure, but she never did. Now she gets to help. _And maybe, _She thought, _maybe I'll get a share of the treasure. _

Within a few hours, they had gotten everything they needed together and had set sail towards a little island in the south pacific. The island itself had no name, although some people referred to it as Death Island. Nice, eh? There was a legend behind the name, and most ships that landed there never came back. Claudia had no idea of this, but Sparrow and the rest of the crew knew all about it. They were ready to go in prepared.

"I hope you're ready for this, mate." Sparrow said to Claudia as he sharpened his sword and loaded his gun. Claudia glanced at him then at her sword. She lifted it and began to sharpen it as she responded, "I hope so too."


	6. Chapter 6

They journied for three days, finally nearing Death Island on the fourth morning. Claudia stood at the bow of the ship, singing "A Pirates Life for Me" as she always did on long journeys by sea. Once in a while one of the crewmembers would mumble in part of the song, but for the most part, no one really paid her any attention and she was treated like part of the crew. Nothing important, but yet she didn't really care. It was just one of those things...you know that you're there but no one else really notices, because they are busy with other things. Although she was mostly ignored by Gibbs and Anna-Maria, she was frequently noticed by some of the other crewmembers. Of course, when one would comment on her to Sparrow, he'd tell them not to touch her, that she was offlimits. 

In a way she felt special, yet in a way she didn't. Most of the time she felt like she was someone of great importance, other times she felt like she was some kind of trophy, dusted and needed to be polished off. She just wished that she could see her cousin again soon, and that hopefully she'd be able to live her dream. 

"Land ahead, Captain!" Shouted one of the men, as they approached and docked on the island. Everyone was scurrying out of the ship, taking with him or her swords, guns and dynamite. Claudia was one of the last people off, and for a few minutes stood on the ship looking out at the sea behind them. She could see a very vague image, but she couldn't make it out so she didn't say anything. Gibbs grabbed her arm and forced her to fall into line behind Anna-Maria and the others. 

They marched around the island until they came to a blocked in cave. Sparrow, who was leading the line, tossed his bag on the ground and dug around in it until he found whole bunches of dynamite. He wedged three of them underneath a rock in the middle of it. He then stood back and looked at it, as if examining it for some sort of flaw. When convinced that it would work fine, he turned and called to Anna-Maria.

"Anna-Maria, the powder." 

Anna-Maria shuffled in her rucksack for a few moments until she found a small white bag containing gunpowder. She then tossed it to him, which he did not catch, but missed, and then watched it land on the ground at his feet. He then looked back at the crew, some of them cracking a smile and holding back their laughter. Sparrow grinned and then said, "Aye, I meant to do that." He picked up the bag and continued to set up the dynamite. A few moments later, he turned his head and said to the others, "Stand back." Everyone took a step back as Sparrow lighted the powder. He took a step back and covered his ears, to avoid the immense **BOOM!** that followed the light closely behind. The explosion sent the rocks that were blocking the entrance sailing through the air, causing everyone to duck so that one wouldn't pummel them. When all was settled, they stood again, peering into the dark black entrance of the cave. 

"Captain," Gibbs broke the silence from the end of the line. Sparrow looked up and nodded. 

"Aye, what is it Mate?"

"Look." Gibbs pointed to a coming British Ship. Anna-Maria grabbed Claudia by the arm. 

"They've come for you."


	7. Chapter 7

"Everyone inside the cave now. Don't stop until you've reached a dead end." Sparrow ordered as he ran down the line to where Claudia was standing. No one moved. Sparrow looked around at the crew before he shouted, "What did I say? Now move, or y'all be lost to Davy Jones' Locker, savvy?" They didn't stand around any longer at this, and as everyone was scrambling to get their bodies and supplies inside, Sparrow gabbed Claudia. He twisted her arms behind her back as he spoke to Gibbs. "Gibbs, gimme that rope." Gibbs didn't move.

"Now!" Gibbs then threw the rope to Sparrow, who caught it and began to tie Claudia's hands together. Once done, he turned her around. 

"So I'm finally of use to you?" She said as she breathed deeply, and angrily. Sparrow smiled.

"Aye, Love, I knew you would be." 

She spat on his foot. "You used me!"

"Only once, Love." He then kissed below her jaw and turned to Gibbs. "Take her, follow them." He pushed her to Gibbs and he took hold of her, then turned and began running, hauling Claudia along with him.

Sparrow watched the British ship get closer and closer, until he finally decided that he had to fight. The crew had to fight. There was no way that he was going to let them take him back to the gallows like they did so many times before. No way whatsoever. He was tired of having to run away. _This time,_ he thought, _This time I'll give Norrington me best shot. Aye, by the end, he be dead or worse. _

Soon the ship was near ready to dock, Sparrow decided he should find the others and get ready for a good fight. He ran into the pitch black and kept going, hoping he wouldn't run into a wall.

Finally he reached the back of the cave, where the crew was waiting for his next order. Claudia, hands still tied, was crouched in a far corner, guarded by Anna-Maria. Sparrow found a nearby rock and stood on it, addressing everyone in the room.

"Listen up mates! The British are just outside, but when we're through, they be dead!" He threw up his fist as the crowd cheered. He continued. "We want their ship!" The crowd cheered again. "Swords at the ready!" 

Everyone drew their swords, cheered, and prepped to fight. Sparrow cleared his throat for attention.

"Anna-Maria, you guard the girl, she's not to move and no one's to touch her, savvy?" Anna-Maria nodded her head.

"Aye, CHARGE!" The whole crew followed Sparrow as he jumped down from his stand and ran from the cave. Claudia just sat there, glaring at Anna-Maria. 

"Do you have any idea what it's like to be living your dream for the first five minutes, then it be ripped from you the next?" Anna-Maria stared at her.

"Does it look like I care?" She drew her sword and examined it, touching the blade in various places. She noticed a bottle out of the corner of her eye and resheithed her sword. She hurried over to the bottle, picked it up and shook it. Claudia was silent and could hear the swish, splunk of the liquid inside. Anna-Maria pulled out the cork with her teeth. 

"God love ya, Jack." She said as she began to take a heavy swig of the rum. 

Outside was pure battle, swords clinking, guns blasting. Sparrow was swording Norrington as they were also conversing at the same time. 

"What do you propose, Mr. Sparrow?" Norrington asked as he continued clinking swords with Jack, blocking himself from being pierced. 

"We keep the ship, and the girl, take very good care of them both, and you get half the gold." He dodged Norrington's sword by jumping over it, managing to bring his own sword down enough to put a slice the Commodore's arm. Norrington grunted then began to fight more vigorously.

"I don't believe that Governor Swann is willing to exchange his niece for gold. You must be the worst pirate I've ever met." Again, Sparrow dodged another one of Norrington's swings. 

"Yet you forget that I did take the Interceptor. Aye, mate, I did."

As Sparrow continued to negotiate the keep of the Dutchell, Anna-Maria was becoming more wasted by the minute. Soon she was fully passed out, and even the sharpest scream could not awaken her. Claudia saw this as the opportunity for her to escape, and she took it. She stood up to the best of her ability and then wandered over to Anna-Maria, unsheathing her sword, which was difficult with her hands tied behind her back. She propped the sword up against a nearby rock, then very carefully slipped the rope over the blade, slicing the twine and allowing her to break free. She then looked around for another opening. She found one besides the main, and debated whether or not to take it. She finally decided it was worth getting out of here and scurried into the darkness.

Clink, clink, bang, bang...The sound of swords and guns still going on, but Jack and Norrington still managed to keep each other alive, and still arguing over the negotiation. 

"Perhaps you gave us, say, all the gold, and we let you keep the ship as soon as another arrives?" Norrington nearly caught Sparrows leg on his sword, but luckily Jack was the faster. 

"Norrington," clink, clink, clink. "Do you really think-" clink. "That I'd be-" clink. "That stupid?" Jack pushed Norrington's sword out of his way and stopped a moment. "That's like letting you sail away with my ship!" He swung his sword again, only to be blocked by Norrington's. 

Claudia scrambled out into the light, trying to catch her breath. _Partial Freedom._ She thought as she began to walk along the beach away from the cave. She closed her eyes and started humming a tune as she stepped son something that did not feel quite right. She stopped, opened her eyes and looked down.

"Hmm..." She said. It looked like the ground but didn't feel like it. She hopped on it a little and before she knew it, whoosh! She was drowned in darkness.


End file.
